Posted on 12/09/2011 1:31:59 PM PST by Jim Robinson
I posted the below in response to a FReeper who asked me what we should do in regards to progressives Newt and Romney. And he asked me what would George Washington do? So I got to thinking about why I've been gravitating towards Newt. In fact it kept me up for half the night.
Here is my reply:
Well, I’ll tell you, after Palin declined to run I really didn’t have a dog in this race. I liked Bachmann and Cain a lot, even Perry, but not as much as I liked Palin. Bachmann and Cain are both conservative enough, but neither have really been tested in higher office, nor do they have much experience in world affairs.
I also had high hopes for Perry because it looks like he’s done a great job in Texas, but his positions on the border issues turned off a lot of people. And his “heartless” statement didn’t win him much opportunity to turn that around.
I guess Santorum is conservative enough and possibly Huntsman, but neither engender much enthusiasm or excitement. Seems they’re just going through the motions. Don’t know if they have the real world experience to be CINC anyway.
Bachmann seems to be trying really hard but don’t know if she’s really qualified for the top spot either. Even so, had Bachmann really lit a fuse on the trail, I probably would have stood by and supported her, but she flopped and is unlikely to recover.
I thought early on that if Perry got into the race (without Palin) that he’d suck all the air out of it and would dominate. But he flopped. And then Cain took off like a rocket and he flopped.
Now Cain didn’t have elective experience, but he looked like a great conservative so we were all hoping and pulling for him. Well, that didn’t turn out well.
Mind you, that abortionist, lib progressive bastard Mitt Romney is just sitting there smiling through all this and he, Rove and the GOP elite think they’ve got it in the bag. Just gotta hang in there, not say anything rash, not rock the boat, no mistakes, just play defense as one by one the upstart tea party conservative candidates burn themselves out.
In my mind, we must defeat Romney AND Obama. I don’t think George Washington is going to be smiling down on us if we had this great tea party opportunity to knock off the progressives and we let Rove, Romney and the corrupt good old boys club bushwhack us. We’re supposed to be the bushwhackers.
So like a whole lot of conservative Republicans and tea party folks, we’re bouncing candidate to candidate looking for the one to knock off Romney so we can take the tea party battle directly to Obama. Romney is no tea party person. He and Rove, et al, sneer at us. No way in hell are they going to do anything we’re interested in doing even if they do get elected. It’ll be government as usual. Big. They hate us worse than they hate the democrats because we’re a direct threat to their power base.
So in comes Gingrich. Didn’t much care for him at first, mainly because of his well known baggage, and his perceived RINO plumage, but he began making a lot of sense and scoring a lot of points in the debates. Turns out his depth of knowledge and experience in government affairs both domestic and foreign and his experience with Ronald Reagan, the Reagan Revolution and the Republican Revolution of the 90’s are quite extensive and quite impressive if you look.
He’s been through the mill and that’s what a lot of our younger less experienced, less traveled candidates are missing. In the debates he comes off as a wiser, more experienced, more knowledgeable, level-headed senior statesman. And it appeared to me that the other candidates acknowledged and respected that.
So I start thinking back about his history as a congressman and speaker, and lo and behold, it appears to me he’s not such a RINO after all. He was a genuine Reagan protege. And he learned well from the master communicator. He eventually set a goal for himself to build a Republican majority and to take the speakership, and he determinately accomplished that goal.
And he had some great conservative accomplishments as congressman and speaker. He passed the contract with America. He cut taxes. Cut the deficit. Reformed welfare. Blocked HillaryCare. Became a thorn in President Clinton’s side, blocked much of his liberal agenda and ultimately allowed impeachment to proceed. Then of course, he resigned due to his own infidelity scandal. But, unlike Clinton, he didn’t deny it, didn’t lie about it, and he did the right thing by resigning.
Bottom line though, through his years with the Reagan Revolution and the Republican majority much conservative good was accomplished. The Wall came down, the Soviet Union collapsed and our great Reagan economy flourished for two decades.
Now, if a progressive RINO had been in charge of the congress during this period, who knows what would have happened. I’m sure the history would have been a lot different. Remember, before Gingrich and his Republican Majority, we conservatives had wandered in the wilderness for 40 years!! And our country was on life support after Jimmy Carter nearly killed it. And the democrats were saying at the time that there was nothing we could do about it. We were going to be stuck with the cold war. Stuck with the Soviet Union, stuck with Iran. Stuck with high oil prices, gas lines and rationing. Stuck with recession, high interest rates, high inflation and high unemployment from that point forward. They could not be fixed. Jimmy Carter and the democrats had given up on America and surrendered the USA to our fate as a failed nation.
In walk Ronald Reagan and Newt Gingrich and reestablish that great shining city on the hill! Thank God! It’s not the end of the world after all. Iran returns the hostages immediately. Reagan takes the Soviet Union head on! Reagan takes the democrats head on and doesn’t take no for an answer. Takes his ideas to the people. It was a struggle but eventually the economy began turning. Reagan’s central theme domestically was that the government was too big, too intrusive, taxes too high, too much spending, too many regulations, too many restrictions on business and industry and they all must be cut. And he took that battle over the heads of the democrat congress to the tax payers and they loved it. Sound familiar?
And in 1994, Newt Gingrich leads the charge against the democrats who had been in power for 40 years and the Republicans take the majority and Gingrich becomes Speaker. He dreams up the contract with America which was designed as an extension of the Reagan Revolution and and included items attempting to balance the budget, reform welfare, tort reform, term limits, line item veto, etc. Some of it was successfully implemented, some not. But under Gingrich they did cut the deficit and balance the budget four years running. Sound desirable? Sound progressive?
How many times in our history have you seen a liberal progressive, cut taxes, cut regulations, cut spending, cut welfare, balance the budget, block big government programs like HillaryCare, impeach a sitting president, etc?
Never! In other words, all this to say Newt is NO RINO!! He’s a pro-life, pro-small government, pro-national security, Reagan conservative!! In short, we’re desperate, and he’s exactly what we’re looking for, and he’s running head and shoulders over the rest of the field, so what the hell are we squabbling about?
Yes, Romney and Rove hate him, the Republican establishment elite ruling class hates him, the liberals hate him, the democrats hate him and they hate him for the same reasons the taxpayers will support him, the lovers of liberty will support him, the defenders of life will support him, the defenders of national security will support him, the lovers of the Reagan Revolution will support him, and we the tea party should support him!! He’s a tax cutting, budget balancing, strong defense, small government, pro-life Reagan CONSERVATIVE!!
After reviewing Newt vs Romney, George Washington would say, go, NEWT!!
I’ll take a chance with Newt. Over Romney? You betcha!!
What say you?
Dang he is making it hard for me to not like him....
From a trust of ideology perspective, I'd rather have Bachmann, or Santorum, or even Perry.......but then I realize that none of them could even beat Romney and I pause.......
Obama has to be voted out, and not by Romney.
Newt, you magnificent bastard!
(did I really say that?)
There is no question that Newt has always been a super talker. And he is a very experienced politician, who has been a power in the back rooms of congress for many years. That has both it’s good and it’s bad sides, of course.
My problem is that he seems to lack a firm moral foundation. You can’t count on him. He started out the Contract with America like a real powerhouse. But then he reached a certain point and stuck, and for whatever reason he then started doing whatever clinton said in his last year in the speakership. At the time, I speculated that clinton had something in his FBI files. In any case, he caved in completely.
Reagan was divorced in his earlier years, but as he grew more mature he seemed to get stronger and stronger in his moral principles. He could be counted on. He didn’t bend with his advisers. When his speechwriters kept removing “tear down that wall” from his Berlin speech, he stuck it back in, several times.
I won’t repeat all of Newt’s recent flubs, but there are quite a few of them. Dede Scozzafava. Friendship with Pelosi. Just the other day saying that life begins with implantation, not conception—which he then retracted after his base was upset. But I cannot believe that that was just a matter of careless talk. He was very specific, and he is perfectly well aware what the arguments are. Probably he wanted to continue fetal stem cell research or chemical abortion.
His several divorces and affairs with aides over the years are far worse than anything Cain was accused of. Whatever one thinks of them, they will certainly be used to persuade the Evangelical vote to stay home, and that’s one of the ways that the Democrats took congress in 2006—because the Evangelicals who had turned out in large numbers for Bush got discouraged and stayed home. The media will have plenty to work with to accomplish a similar reaction.
We are certainly between a rock and a hard place at the moment. With Cain gone, frankly the only real hope I can see out there is that Palin will somehow be drafted or persuaded to run. So I’m not ready to hop on board the Newt train yet. But I can understand why it may seem the least bad alternative at the moment.
Could be, and I agree, he was not ready for the job. I liked him though.
I will also note that Newt could have been doing many other things since leaving congress but has chosen to spend a great deal of time and money working at the grassroots level to help republican candidates in state and local races. That also speaks well of him IMHO.
The fact that the elites hate Newt draws me to him. Newt has been all over the map (NY23}in some areas and has been willing to admit mistakes in the past. If he stays disciplined and speaks the truth he will be successful. I do not see any way Obama can win and have not seen any way for him to win in about 4 months. I wish Sarah would have run just for the excitement factor, and she would have won. I am not settling for Newt he would be my second choice after the early carnage in the debates. Great post Jim!!
2. My first preference would not be Newt.
3. We do not need a 3rd party run, too much riding on 2012.
4. See the other candidates very similar to what you described.
5. From the beginning I made the statement that I would prefer Rick Perry remain Governor of Texas. For this reason: as long as Rick is Governor of Texas he will not get too far off the reservation. He has powerful (and honorable) supporters who keep him in check.
6. It will be harder to do that with Newt, but it could be done. We do not need an academic (like Newt) but we need a leader, a young Dick Cheney Clone. Hmmm. VP slot? If we could find the Right VP for Newt and the Tea Party extract enough concessions from the Republican Establishment it might work. This is not about electing one man, it is about electing a man who will bring the right people to Washington, DC. People capable of building things, not people who only want to steal and destroy things. (novel concept?)
7. It is time for Americans to stand together against the common enemy. In this case an internal one and an external one. The internal enemies are the Leftist Dems, the Gobalist Traitors, Self Serving POLs. The external enemies we have always had, but Obozo has enabled the resurgence of the Muslim Dictators.
8. The storm clouds are on the horizon. It is up to US to decide how we will hand them.
"He's a man who might be more comfortable at Independence Hall in 1776."Now that is one of the most wise and apt comments I have read on FR in a long time (I might even have to borrow it next time I write a commentary). Too many conservatives have the idealized vision of our Founding Fathers; they forget that they were merely men, with all the failings of their fellow men, who were blessed with a vision, the education and knowledge to see one step farther than their peers.
Good piece and good info, Jim. I was for Sarah Palin in a big way, when she decided against running I was disappointed and didn’t have a favorite second.
With Cain out I’ve been thinking Gov. Perry and lately Newt Gingrich though I doubt Perry can recover and beat mittens. I believe at this point Newt can beat mittens so I’m going with Newt.
My exact thoughts.
Didn’t I hear Newt say he could see Romney as his VP? REALLY? No way! That will not be the right person. A Chris Christie is needed. A Marco Rubio. Someone with some solid conservative creds who will bring something to the ticket.
My goal is to follow my tagline. That way anyone in charge can be controlled.
I don't hold out hope but I keep praying Sarah will reconsider somehow someway.
OMG, folks. that new Newt commercial is deadly.
Enter Newt Gingrich - who confounds me. Yes, his tenure as Speaker of the House was productive for conservative goals but his lobbying (whatever you call it) and statements on various issues trouble me. His multiple wives and seemingly extravagant lifestyle don't help. They will be easy targets for the Obama campaign, guaranteed. Most of all, I just don't feel confident that Gingrich won't 'go left' if elected president. However, with Perry, Bachmann and Santorum's campaigns basically on life support, as conservatives, we're just about out of options. With the realization that no candidate is without flaws but that RINO Mitt Romney is not worth even considering but Obama must be defeated, I'll very likely end up voting for Newt Gingrich in my states Republican primary. I won't have to hold my nose, as I've had to do numerous times before e.g. McCain, - but I will have to grit my teeth and hope that this time, we won't get hosed.
Newt is not perfect on every issue, but then, neither was Reagan. And unlike everyone else running, Newt has demonstrated an ability to cobble together coalitions when necessary to enact conservative legislation. All the ideology in the world is of little value if you can't do that.
I’m looking forward to Newt campaigning against Obama. The debates will be a bloodbath - Zero won’t know what hit him.
I am so tired of having mealy-mouthed apologists and cowards representing the Republican party - afraid to take the battle to Obama and those like him.
When Americans are given the choice between conservative principals and liberalism, they choose the conservative every time. Unfortunately, they don’t get the choice very often. Gingrich is the first candidate since Reagan who has me excited about the election.
The people are going to see a real contrast between a man of accomplishment and a poser.
Newt is a real intellectual and professor, not a fake one. No one in the media will be able to say Newt is a dummy. He can articulate conservative solutions in complete sentences with proper syntax. To those who think being a good debater is not a qualification for president - sorry, but it is hugely important. If you can’t express your ideas clearly no one is going to vote for you.
Newt has a real list of accomplishments as Speaker. His balanced budgets will contrast dramatically with the Reid/Pelosi/Obama fiscal disaster since 2006 (and put an end forever to the myth that those 1990s balanced budgets belonged to Clinton).
Newt has free market-based solutions to bring under control the problems of health care, Social Security, immigration, energy, and the EPA. Contrast with Obama’s demagoguery on these issues.
He is a realist on foreign policy and will make Obama’s kowtowing to the Muslims look ridiculous.
Newt will never ever say that Obama is a good man that we don’t need to fear as president. He will take the battle directly to him and has the smarts to win on every issue.
Unless WW III starts between now and next November (and it very well may) Newt will win a landslide victory over the boy President.
Thank you. Your opinion carries a lot of weight with me.
Perhaps the more useful question at this point would be, “Newt Gingrich - better than Obama?”
Just as a personal idiosyncracy, I would suggest that the answer is, “Yes.”
I think he said something like he would "consider" him, nothing more. The press ran with that to rediculious extremes.
Like most conservatives, I WILL NOT vote for Mitt for anything. NOTHING....
If the Republican Establishment forces that, the party is over.
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